More Than Meets The Eye

Just recently, I convinced my boyfriend to watch the Twilight movies with me.  If you're unfamiliar with the Twilight saga, it goes something like this: Girl illogically falls in love with a vampire, putting herself in danger.  Vampire leaves to keep her safe.  Girl falls in love with a werewolf.  Vampire comes back.  Girl has to choose between vampire and werewolf, continually placing herself in danger.  Girl chooses vampire. Everyone eventually lives happily ever after. 

Since the Twilight movies are pretty big chick flicks, I thought my boyfriend would hate them.  But I tell the truth when I say, he actually LIKED them.  Now, even though I unashamedly love the Twilight saga, I couldn't understand why he thought they were so great.  However, after thinking about it a little more, I've come to the conclusion that there's much more to Twilight than a seemingly silly love story and Taylor Lautner's abs. 

1) Bella, the main character, is nothing special.  She's klutzy, shy, and doesn't care about the things most girls care about, such as clothes and hair.  And yet, one of the most eligible guys in school (if you exclude the fact that he's a vampire) falls in love with her.  Believe it or not, this is a great message to girls in today's society.  It shows girls they don't need to be the most attractive or put on the most makeup to find a great guy.  Girls love this.

2) Bella's life is messy.  She has highs and lows.  She gets in arguments with her friends.  She doesn't have the best relationship with her parents.  She's in love with two guys at the same time.  Life isn't perfect, and Twilight doesn't shy away from this.  In fact, although the Twilight saga ends with everything being okay, it still hints at the fact that their life will not always be perfect.  Although Twilight is a fantasy, it depicts real life.   

3) Edward and his family are "different" vampires.  They don't drink human blood.  They are shown to have a strong desire to do what is right even though it's difficult.  Twilight can teach us to have strong self-discipline in what we believe even when it's hard. 

4) Edward has very traditional beliefs regarding marriage.  He believes in saving sex for marriage.  Today, almost NO movies depict this.  And yet, Twilight is one of the few movies that do, encouraging girls and guys that it's okay to wait for marriage.  That's a pretty great message. 

5) Twilight is not just a chick flick.  While it does have a lot of romance, it's full of action, comedy, suspense, and mystery.  It has a little something for everyone.

In my opinion, these are just a few reasons why Twilight is so great.  In the words of my boyfriend, the Twilight saga is "some of the best movies ever."  Whether or not you decide to watch the movies or read the books, I hope you can at least admit that there is more than meets the eye to the Twilight saga. 

Say What?

If you had told me a couple months ago that I would be traveling the world this fall, I would have laughed.  There's no way I would have believed you.  But, it's true!  I will be studying abroad on the Fall 2013 voyage of Semester at Sea! 

Semester at Sea is a non-traditional study abroad program.  I will be living, sleeping, and taking classes on a cruise ship for 115 days while stopping to port in 14 different countries.  Here's the official itinerary:

 

Embark: London, England

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Hamburg, Germany

Antwerp, Belgium

LeHavre, France

Dublin, Ireland

Lisbon, Portugal

Cadiz, Spain

Casablanca, Morocco

Takoradi, Ghana

Tema, Ghana

Cape Town, South Africa

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Rio de Janiero, Brazil

Salvador, Brazil
Havana, Cuba

Debark: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Even though this may sound like a vacation, it's actually going to be a lot of work.  I will be taking classes every day while on the ship, including Saturdays and Sundays.  I will be taking World Literature, Marine Biology, Media, Religion, and Culture, Experiential Writing, and Women in Literature, all of which have one full class day in one country.  For example, for my World Literature class, I will be visiting World War I battle sites in Belgium.  I'm going to be seeing first hand exactly what I'm learning in my courses.  How cool is that?!

I also have the BEST job on the entire ship.  I'm the dependent children student assistant which means I will be creating a study hall and enrichment program for all the kids onboard.  So, I'm going to hang out with kids every single day while studying abroad, which is the coolest opportunity ever in the eyes of an Elementary and Special Education major. And because these kids are the kids of the faculty and staff, I'm going to form an even closer relationship with all my professors.   I repeat, how cool is that?!

So if you couldn't tell by now, I am beyond excited to study abroad on Semester at Sea!  I'm not entirely sure why God has given me this extrodinary opportunity, but I can't wait to see what He has in store for me onboard the MV Explorer! 

Trusting God

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

While this is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible, it's also one of the most challenging.  I love to be in control.  I hate giving up control, especially in my personal life.  My love for control is one of my biggest sins. As a Christian, I'm supposed to put my whole life into God's hands and trust that He has the best plans for me. I've known this ever since I was saved, when I promised I would follow God and His plans for my life.  But because I'm a sinner, my love for control frequently slips back into my life and God has to remind me that He has the authority, that He's the only one in control. 

This past year, a good amount of my time was spent planning to go back to the Miracle Garden Orphanage in India.  I first went to Miracle Garden last summer on a mission trip and absolutely fell in love with the kids.  When I was leaving, my favorite little boy named Sadik came up to me and asked if I would be coming back tomorrow.  It was at that exact moment I made a vow to myself that I would return to Miracle Garden the next summer.  I spent a lot of time this year figuring out dates, flights, and general travel plans.  I was told my trip to India would be possible. I was so excited that I would be seeing the kids again.  And then in March I got the email.  I wasn't able to come down to Miracle Garden after all.  I was devastated. 

I began to resent God.  I had never wanted to be in control more than in the moment I found out I couldn't go back to India.  I didn't understand why God would make the final call that going back to India wasn't in His plan.  I started to ignore God. I stopped praying and stopped listening at church.  I didn't want to hear that he had planned something better for me.  All I wanted was to go to back to Miracle Garden.  Yet somehow, my resentment slowly turned into acceptance of the fact that going back to India was not the best plan for me.  I had come to accept my trust needed to be placed in the Lord.  But until a couple days ago, I wasn't sure what better plan God had in store for me. 

On Friday, I found out I will be studying abroad on the Fall 2013 voyage of Semester at Sea.  I had applied for Semester at Sea while still planning for my trip to India, but I never thought it would really work out. I wanted to go to Miracle Garden more than anything so Semester at Sea was my back-up plan, knowing I wouldn't be able to do both.  And yet, I will be studying abroad this fall! As soon as I found out, I knew this was God's better plan for me.  Although my devastation from not returning to the kids at Miracle Garden may never entirely go away, I trust God for my new adventure of studying abroad on Semester at Sea.