People often want the benefits of a low-commitment relationship with a conveniently distant God...however, how you see yourself mirrors exactly what you believe about what Jesus has done. /// Aaron DaileyOuch.

- 10/12/13 - 

Still trying to grasp the fact that I am a senior and time is slipping by. Seems like yesterday I was starting my freshman year, nervously cracking open textbooks that were *gasp* hard. Time has blurred by and here I am, trying to decide where I should go on a gap year, writing debate cases, still learning to manage my time well, trying to survive in math (ugh). Odd, you know. I never thought I would spend Saturday mornings at a friend's house in the seemingly boring pursuit of deciding if the United States has a moral obligation to mitigate international conflict, but when accompanied by chai tea and some of the smartest people I know, it has suddenly become my pastime of choice. 

Here's to chai and conversation.

minimalism part iii
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So, how does one simplify? When it comes down to it, what will help you the most in deciding how to live simply is realizing that scanners and big black trash bags are beautiful things. Things that remind you of someone or sometime special can either be scanned into the computer or have a picture taken of them. Clothing that doesn't make you look or feel like the fabulous person you are can be let go of. The six-dozen lotions and creams you have sitting on your bathroom counter? Yeah....those big black trash bags are pretty gorgeous, huh?
See, the hardest part of simplifying is that it is purely individual. What I prioritize is completely different that what you do. Consider this not as a "to-do" list, but an inspiration to live freely. 
Live unhindered. 

minimalism part ii ///
It started with how I traveled. In November, I went to China with a big suitcase and a seemingly bigger backpack. During that trip, as I lugged all my crap around and tried (unsuccessfully) to keep track of it in hotels, I realized I couldn't do this anymore. I came home and swore I would do something about my traveling paranoia. 
This last January, I went to Oklahoma for a week for TeenPact Staff Training. All my clothing, including shoes, went in a carry-on suitcase. Good gosh it was hard. But during my trip, I had everything I needed, and then some. I was hooked on this minimalism business. 
I think we are often held back by our stuff. We hold back from from letting things go that are weighing down our minds because we think that our worth is bound up in our possessions, when nothing could be further from the truth. 
One thing I love about minimalism is that its not about being über organized. Because you could be über organized and still have your possessions hanging over your head like a cloud. It's about releasing that which holds you captive. 
And I love that      

School starts tomorrow. 

And I'm terrified. 

I don't feel prepared. I suppose no one ever does feel ready for the beginning of the end of the four year journey. I guess I probably should have read a few more of my literature books this summer, but oh well. Today is a day for celebrating the last four years of my life, and the years that lie ahead, and also for Netflixing. Especially Netflixing. 

minimalism part i/// During these past few months, I found a love for minimalism.  I realized that I had way too many things I didn't use. Clothes I never wore, papers I never look at, knick-knacks whose giver I had forgotten, bath salts and mysterious lotions I was afraid to use. When I traveled, I was the stereotypical paranoid packer. You know, "what if a snowstorm strikes Florida in the middle of May? I NEED this parka, JUST in case."Clutter leapt from the real world to my digital world as well. Too many social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.) cluttered my brain and sucked up my time. I was afraid to delete pictures that were awful, and which had no significance for me. 
In other words, I was a mental hoarder. I didn't stuff my house with junk (although, believe me, my room was a d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r), I stuffed my mind with it. I was afraid to let things go (especially online), and the results were devastating. I wasn't sleeping well. I worked myself up into a sweat over losing ONE follower. I constantly checked Blogger for pending comments and Facebook for notifications and Twitter for retweets and Instagram for likes. An unkind word someone said to me or a mistake I made would roll around in my head for months, driving me crazy. Ugh. 
But then, I found this website. And my eyes were opened. 
part ii coming soon

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. 

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Mark Twain