So, here are 25 random things about me and my life, in no particular order.
1. I love photography. I love taking photos, looking at other peoples photos, learning as much as I can about photography, working at getting better, capturing time and moments and people and history... I just love everything about it.
2. I loooove to travel!! I thrive on being in new places and learning about someone else's culture. I really enjoy seeing things from history (like the Coliseum in Rome or castles in England!) and knowing I can touch and see and experience the same things that people hundreds or even thousands of years before me did! And I just like adventures :).
3. I have lots of best friends (I think Ashley said this too!)... they are all best in their own way or category, so I think it's fair to have them share the title. But when it comes down to it, my sister is my very best friend. I couldn't live without her. She knows everything about me and understands me better than sometimes I understand myself. If I lost every other friend I had, but still had her, I would be okay. She inspires me to live radically, to follow my dreams, to stand up for what I believe in... she is wild and free and totally weird, and I love every piece of her. She is the greatest lifetime gift I could ever receive.
4. I am crazy in love with Chad Craig McNicol. Now, he is my best friend too, but since he's also the love of my life, Britt takes the cake on that one. ;-). I love everything about this man and have learned so much from him about life and love and how to be myself and justice and grace and being a follower of Christ. He changes me for the better every single day and I will be eternally thankful to have him in my life and knowing my heart like he does.
5. I love my family! Even though we are dysfunctional, like every single family on the planet (except maybe the Lynchs haha), we fit together. We have so much fun together doing stupid things like putting together puzzles or going out to the shooting range. We're unique and weird and love each other endlessly. I'm so blessed by parents who have brought me up to know Jesus and who have done their best to provide for me and teach me about life.
5b. (Is this cheating?) - Don't forget my extended family! I have the greatest aunts and uncles in the universe. Seriously, not one of them is weird or distant or... I don't know, they're just great! They've all invested in me in different ways, but have all been so supportive and impacting and just wonderful. And I’ve had so much fun in the past few years getting to know my cousins again. We’ve always been so far apart in age that it was hard to feel like we could connect to be friends – because we couldn’t, really. But now that age gap doesn’t seem to matter much, and I’ve found wonderful friendships and incredible people in my cousins that I’m really just barely learning about. It’s been so fun and I hope that continues into the kind of lifelong friendships that my parents have found in some of their cousins! Oh, and I completely adore their kids. Adore.
6. I love being Canadian. Not necessarily because I love Canada (although I do!), but mostly because of what's there. More family!! The cousins I'm closest to in age live there, and we have grown up doing summers together our whole lives. My cousin Karen is at a close second behind Brittany for the best friend slot! And Janice is getting up there as she gets older :). The closest people that I have to siblings are Jess & Mike, who I couldn't live without. They truly are like my sister & brother, and I have more memories with them than probably anyone else I know. They will always be so important to have in my life and I love them SO much (and their Dad!!). My summers in Canada are my favorite memories; I've been there every summer of my life, just like my Dad! And I hope my kids will get to be there every summer of their lives, too. It is such a wonderful place. The people there are who I can truly be 100% myself with and feel so safe and loved for exactly that.
7. I don't want to grow up. Okay, maybe I do a little bit, but I love still having a little bit of childlike wonder in my heart. Which might be why I love Disneyland so much, or cry so hard when I watch the Polar Express, or get absolutely giddy when I see little kids delight in the small and beautiful things that grown ups don't even see. I miss those things.
8. I really enjoy writing. The problem is that I'm way too detailed (if you can't tell already by the ridiculous paragraphs this stupid thing has turned into!). I've enjoyed having my writing critiqued and "honed" as I've ventured through college, and I wish I had taken more opportunities to better it as I've been here.
9. I love being outside. I love hammocks and swings and picnics and lakes and all of those wonderful things. I like hiking and fishing and camping (although I don’t know how, because I never grew up doing those things!). Sometimes I wish I lived somewhere that was more outdoors-y, but then again I know that I have plenty of places around me that I just don't take advantage of.
10. I love the ocean! Doesn't everybody??? I love surfing even though I'm really not good at it, and my fingers and toes go numb every time, and a lot of times I get frustrated and just give up... but the feeling afterward is like nothing else. You feel so at peace but like you could conquer the world at the same time. It's really great for my spirit.
11. I’ve had so much fun being an Impact leader this year! My high school girls are truly amazing people, and I’m loving learning more and more about them each time we’re together. It’s fun to watch them go through high school and slowly grow up and learn about themselves and the world. We had a blast together at winter camp! Where, coincidently I was strongly reminded that I'm in the midst of learning how to trust God with my life. I think I'll always be in the midst of that, but right now it seems to be especially prominent. There are a lot of big intersections coming up for me, and letting go of control sounds like the worst idea ever. But I know it's the only way I'm going to survive this crazy thing called life :).
(This is only 6 of the 13!)
12. I've loved every day of going to Biola. I've learned SO much about myself, the world, being a Christian, making new friends... it's going to be so hard to leave this community that I've completely fallen in love with. I don't want to think about that day approaching so quickly. There are a few select guys, and a group of 8 plus a small handful of specific girls that I am especially thankful for (some of them don't even go here anymore! Teagan & Kristin, and Katherine didn't for a bit!) and am definitely a better person because of. They're the kind of friends that you hold tightly to :).
13. I am having the time of my life being a bridesmaid!! I'm so honored that I was asked to be in weddings of some of my dearest and most precious friends, (in order of wedding date!) Lisa, Whitney & Amy - I just can't even get over it. I know and love all of their future husbands, too, which makes it even more wonderful! I'm trying to be a good bridesmaid and help however I can, but it’s hard that two of my brides live far away! It’s fun watching how differently people do wedding planning and figuring out what I’ll be like doing it someday. I think I’ll love every second and every detail of it, like my sweet Amy Kristen.
14. I really love reading. I love getting lost in other peoples’ stories and worlds that have been created in someone’s mind. It’s a release for me, but I also think reading is really important to expanding worldview and perspective and even writing skills and vocabulary. It’s healthy to read and I’m so thankful for all of the books I’ve been introduced to in my life. To name a few: Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Harry Potter, Twilight (I know, those 3 are so typical!), Le Petit Prince, Redeeming Love, Captivating, The Chronicles of Narnia. Curling up with a good book in front of the fireplace on a rainy day at my Canada house might be my favorite thing in the world.
15. A huge part of my heart is rooted in music. I started played the piano when I was around 6 years old, and it’s something I’ll always be so thankful for. There’s something about playing that makes me feel so alive and joyful. It makes me think of that movie, Chariots of Fire, when he says, “when I run, I feel His pleasure.” … I think when I play music, I feel God’s pleasure. It’s a great part of who I am. One of my goals in life is to play with an orchestra for a movie score. We’ll see!
16. Speaking of, I love movies!! Sometimes I really wish I had been a film major. I really enjoy not only watching movies, but also learning about how they were made, what all went into them, etc. I’m really interested in the film industry as a whole, and what a huge team of talented people it takes to make a movie. Plus I just love curling up and watching a movie anytime I get a chance ☺.
17. I have 3 amazing roommates! We are the CREW (Cassi, Rebecca, Erica, Whitney) and we love to cook together, watch movies and Friends together, and have sleepovers in our living room every Thursday after Family Dinner ☺. Seriously! We bring all of our mattresses out onto the living room floor and fall asleep to a movie. It’s my favorite part of the week! I’m so glad we came up with the idea of doing Family Dinners. Every Thursday we open up our apartment to whoever wants to come (yes, that includes you!) and we make a home-cooked meal for everyone. It’s so much fun! We get to spend time with the people we love, sometimes playing games or Rock Band or just chatting about life.
18. There are two crazy groups of friends back in Phoenix that I love and miss. One is from high school and the other is from... well, I don't really know. A big mix I guess of high school, church and mutual friends. But I have had the greatest times with these crazy people and I miss them all a ton! It's always a fun time when we get together over breaks :)
19. I am so excited to be going to South Africa this coming April!!! I’m going with a team of 4 other leaders, 14 high schoolers, and 6 young adults/college students. We will be near Cape Town for two weeks, teaching at an Academy for orphans of AIDS and running a week-long Bible camp for elementary age kids from the townships surrounding the camp. I can’t wait to finally go to Africa (God’s put it on my heart for a long time and I’ve just been waiting for the opportunity to go) and to see what God does with our team while we’re there! Be praying for us ☺ rhccsa2009.blogspot.com
20. A group of us go to Mammoth every year for a weekend snowboard trip to the Knickerbocker’s condo and it’s one of my favorite parts of the whole year. It is SO fun to go on a trip with friends you love, and to be up in the snow all together – whether we just stay inside by the wood stove and watch a movie while it snows outside, go sledding in the middle of the forest, or shred it up on the mountain, it’s always been the greatest time. I’m so thankful that Peter invited me to come that first year and that his family is so generous to let us stay at their place every year!
21. I have a lot of fun going on hunting trips with my Dad and uncles and cousins. I don’t especially adore the killing part, but I love the bonding that goes along with those trips, and the chance to be out in the middle of nowhere with no ties to anything and no agenda… I think I’ve learned in the past few years that I really love the outdoors.
22. I loooooove the Phoenix Suns. I’ve been a true fan of them since I was in kindergarten and I will continue to be loyal to my team for as long as they are a team! I don’t care if they’re great and up for the championship (they really should have won a couple years ago) or they’re mediocre and getting back in the groove (like this year), I will always love them.
23. I love my dog, Meg. I don’t know what I will do when she leaves this earth. Honestly, it will be the most tragic thing. I can’t imagine. Even though she’s gotten pretty sassy in her old age, she is still the most sweet and loveable dog I’ve ever come across. And she is a great hunting dog!
24. There are people in my life that I’m not always in great contact with, but I will always be thankful for and want in my life. People I’ve grown up with and have the best childhood memories and inside jokes with, like Liz Malinski, Amy Baker and Emily Runyan. Or people I spent every day of junior high and high school with, growing into the person I am now and learning so much together about life and hurt and what it means to be a great friend, like Melissa Mollica, Monica Rawlings and Stephanie Burke. It’s like that song from Wicked about being changed for good, just because you knew this person. That’s how I feel about these girls. And there are a few more recent girls who are quickly growing into those kind of people in my life as well, like Amy Lynch, Kali Lynch, Teagan Mercer and Tara D'Arcangelo. These girls are changing me for the better.
25. The only reason I can love or be any of these things is because of my great and wonderful God. He is everything to me – He is the one who knows my heart in it’s entirety and loves me in spite of how ugly it can be. He is the creator of the universe, all powerful and knowing, yet also the lover of human hearts, compassionate and gentle. He is more than I will ever understand or be able to put into words. I am forever thankful that Jesus gave up his life in order that we could be forgiven and know God the way we can. I want to live each moment of each day of my life honoring Him and giving Him glory He deserves.
