This Has Nothing to Do With Italy

Death is really very sad.

As I looked through the window to the blue sky and bright sunshine, trying to comprehend the notion of someone passing from death to eternal life, the latest Cosmopolitan magazine sitting on the corner table caught my eye.
Big bold letters shout “SEX TIPS”.
What a superficial world we live in.

 We are caught up in looking beautiful in these passing bodies. Our society has placed so much emphasis on being the top, the best, the most envied. We admire the girls who have these beautiful facebook pictures that boast skinny bodies in short, tight dresses.
My friends huddle around a table admiring the shirtless men that dress magazine pages.

What’s it worth?

We are raised learning how to flirt with boys to make them want us. We are obsessed with perfecting these bodies that will surely decay anyway.

Death leaves behind all the things that we're caught up in in this earth- sins, worries, anxieties, pressures, struggles. It releases you from that bondage. What an utterly amazing thing. Why aren’t we envious of that?

Certain things like death give a hefty reminder of where our alignment is.

So, in the words of Mumford and Sons, Where you invest your love, you invest your life.

Anything we replace with intake of Bible doctrine, we are placing in front of God. Where are we investing our time? In Cosmo? What a lie that is. The lies they feed convincing us that we need to get a monthly issue to learn how to be seductive or how to look our hottest is horribly sad.

We are one day closer to our eternal bodies. We are called to stay focused on that. It's not only a command, but a refreshing allowance. Our focus strays from stress in grades, future jobs, or how perfect our hair looks. These things in our lives have never been ours anyway. It’s Gods. It’s God’s to use to His glory.

And that, in itself, is quite relieving.

My Not Bucket List

I don’t like Bucket Lists. Why? Because in every movie or book that I’ve encountered with the main character creating a bucket list, they complete it and then they die.

No, I don't want that. I want something with the same general concept, but not that.

I love lists. I love crossing things off of lists. I love always having something to do and a deadline in which to complete it. I love having my mind focused on a hundred things at once. 

So. I want to make a list. I want to make a list of things I love, things I think are awesome, things I hate, things I want to do, things I don’t want to tell people because I’m afraid I won’t complete them.

And I want them in cursive. At least for today, because cursive makes me feel pretty and creative.

Yes, I will start my lists right now and I will start them in cursive.

I think I am getting into a mental block.
Maybe this happens in your first "on your own" experience, not having your parents even a phone call away just in case.  

You know, fears have this crazy way of gripping your life so much. that you can literally convince yourself not to walk out your front door, just to make sure you don't fail, or get lost, or die. 

But the irony is that, fear is self-defeating. You see, we like to control our lives-we think we can control how we will live and how we will die. And that, we tell ourselves, is living. We tell ourselves as long as we control it, we are living. So when you come to the realization that you're not in control of your life, fear sets in and pushes you into seclusion. It keeps you locked in your apartment where it's safer and you still feel you have control of your life.  But here's the kicker: you've lost your life because of that fear of losing your life.

So these lists are my way of pushing myself back out there, out of the nest and into living. God's got me. He's not dropping me.

(Oh and about the lists. They're private. But, it's boring reading someone else's lists when you can write your own anyway!)

Grazie Mille

A week of being sick can leave you doing only one thing...thinking.  


I started thinking of reasons why being sick at home would be so much easier than being sick in Europe.

Well, for one thing, the doctors office is much faster moving and efficient.

Oh yea, and the doctors at home speak English.

I don't have to guess if I'm taking the correct amount of medication. 

And I can have my mother to check my forehead when I am running a temperature...and my dad to say, "you're not throwing up right? You're fine."  

Ugh. Not to mention, the Steelers lost, which every student here from the West Coast was sure to remind me. 

Without making you depressed with more negative thoughts, let me leave it at the point that things were looking pretty gloomy at the moment.

My head was bringing me down more than my sickness!

So, determined to not get stuck in this rut of a detrimental bad mood while in Italy, I decided to change my thoughts' directions. 

After all, it's pretty awesome that I get to be sick IN ITALY!!! How many people can say that?? Not many, considering that 1% of students in America study abroad. 

So to everyone in the states, I know, be jealous, I am sick in Italy. :) So cool.

While on this track, I figured I'd compose of the list of things that I am thankful to be blessed with that really do make my mood that much brighter.

• Men and women fighting for our country
• Sunlight shining through autumn leaves 
• Breathing in a crisp fall day followed by a misty silent night
• Scripture keeping me plugging on a bad day & motivated on a good day.
• Laughing at senseless things with great friends
• Meeting new people and hearing their stories
• A roommate who loves to bake
• My beds lovely down comforter that keeps me warm all night
• Dancing, dancing, dancing
• Listening to Billie Holiday while washing the dishes (quite relaxing!)

And of course, another day of life to enjoy it, in Italy. (sick or not)

Some of the little joys of Italy:

Fall day along the river in Rome

These handy little things give everyone who owns one 10 extra style points

Luke Bryan was right when he said, 'Rain is a good thing'

A great friend who made sure I attended the sorority formal while I was absent

How could you not be thankful for headless statues?!

What are you thankful for today?