The Purpose Is For People

Photography by Kayla Justice

If you've ever gone through something hard at one point of your life (which is everyone reading this), the last thing you want to hear is that it happens for a reason. That you will be grateful for hard times, eventually. That what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

At least for me, those quick-fix attempts at comfort never seemed to work. Like I'm glad that future me will be just peachy, but it doesn't take away the awfulness I feel right now !!!

Unfortunately I'm not here to write a guide on comforting phrases that do work in times of trouble, but rather the opposite. As someone who lives on this earth and participates in the struggle of life, but has walked far enough away to experience the gratitude that is promised, I want to say that it's worth it.

#ArtfulEpcot: Festival Favorites

Last weekend I got to go to Epcot's International Festival of the Arts for the first time EVER! During festival season, Epcot becomes my most visited park. I have to say, this festival is competing for the spot in my heart that belongs to Food & Wine Festival. I love food, but I also love art... plus the concert series for this one stars Broadway performers so it's a real toss up.

I actually visited the festival twice this past weekend. The weather was SO nice; but it was also opening weekend + MLK weekend, aka I'm pretty sure the entire state of Florida was there as well. 

Little Thoughts: H O M E

Before Christmas break (it feels weird saying that outside of school, but because my office was closed for the holidays, I really did have a winter break!), I was having dinner with a friend of mine; and we were talking about the enneagram.

The enneagram is honestly one of my favorite things to read and talk about; BUT that's not the purpose of this post, and I can't dive too deep into it now. Send me a message if you want to chat about it. Basically we are both 9's, and 9's love to be home. We only chatted briefly on our love for being home and how refreshing it would feel over the holidays, but this concept hasn't left my mind since. The interesting part for me was the tie between enneagram type and adoration of home. I knew I was an introvert, but I had never thought of my love for home as more than just a personal preference, but as a part of my personality.

I started thinking about what all I mean when I say love "home." What is it that I crave about it and why?

Here are some thoughts I started collecting recently...

A Very Brave Year

My word for this year is brave.

I've been thinking a lot about 2018, and how I feel about it. I think it was one of the most beautiful years of my life, but also really hard. Not hard in a way that made me want to escape and just get through it, but in a way that was refining and full of gratitude. The hard parts have me really thankful.

I'm realizing I did a lot of brave things this year, but bravery is not what I thought it was.

The beginning of this year held the most uncertainty, but also a lot of hope. My last semester of college was upon me. I had no plans, but hope that God would swoop in and bring direction as He is known to do. But even with hope and belief that God would provide for me, I was the most scared I've ever been in my life. I cried a lot... in church, in the car, in the night as I fell asleep... purely out of the crushing weight of fear.

I was struggling with taking the necessary steps to prepare for the future while also trusting that God would provide while also pressing in close to the relationships around me. Even though I would be graduating soon, I didn't want to pull away from the people I loved so much in order to spare myself of heartbreak. Goodbyes and change are painful, and it would've been easier to back away slowly and put up walls to prepare for inevitable parting.

But here is where I found bravery.