My Sister-in-Law Sarah just wrote a post as a practise run of a talk she'll be giving regarding saving money for a family and surviving off of just one pay cheque.
While attempting to respond in her comment box, I realized I was composing a blog of my own! So, I've decided to write out the thoughts that popped up while reading Sarah's blog:
As a newly converted tightwad, I'm looking forward to hear Sarah's advice about saving money! I've been searching for a good guide for uni students on how to do the same...
As for Sarah's example couple:
"It’s an all too common tale: boy and girl meet at private, pricey Christian college. They are both from stable middle class homes which means they’ve taken out a good chunk of change to finance their educations. Between them both they’ve accrued about $60,000 worth of debt and graduate only to enter into the teaching and pastoral fields. After they marry, between her teacher’s salary and his youth pastor salary, they’re barely able to pay the bills. They also probably succumb to the pressure to go to graduate school so within the next couple of years they end up completely selling their souls to Sallie Mae. Smack on some credit card debt, two car payments, and some economic naiveté and you’ve got a financially stressful situation. As soon as baby comes along, the possibility for mom or dad to stay at home just isn’t a reality. So, the young couple simply accrues more debt, even though they are both working full time because they have sitter costs, doctor co-pays, and mountains of disposable diapers."
This made me think how different my life might be if I HAD done the pricey christian college thing.
At the time, when there was no money to be had, and I couldn't afford to go, I was annoyed with God, wondering why he'd kept me from continuing my christian education. Now,I'm realizing he had a different plan for me. I had the chance to grow in my faith and be nurtured by teachers who cared and who promoted my Christianity while in high school. That instead of continuing to expand in that, let's face it 'bubble of faith', God wanted to challenge me. So off to secular University I went, and yes, its a daily challenge not having more than two people understand why I believe what I do, and being the odd man out because I have some need to cling to 'out of date morals'. I struggle with my beliefs being questioned during lectures; I force myself to not storm out of classrooms where the teacher encourages the out right trashing of the Christian faith. I ignore the stares when I can pull Bible verses out of thin air when discussing a novel that centres on faith.
It has been very difficult to drag myself to non-mandatory(at least by the school) church on Sunday mornings.
Yet I can also see what God intended for me when he dropped me in freezing cold Ottawa.
1) I have the opportunity to minister to people all the time, from my friends to my classmates, even my residents. People see that I act a little differently, and question it. They question my random acts of kindness, they question my need to not break rules, they question my cross and key necklace, my need to remain in control of who I am and not give in to peer pressure. Being here forces me to either step up to the plate, or stay on the bench. I don't get the option of being lukewarm in my faith. I constantly have to defend against attacks, but it only strengthens my will and God's plan for me.
2)Because I could only afford to go to school here, and I have struggled to make enough money to pay for my cheap University tuition, I really appreciate the hard work its taken to pay for it! BUT most importantly, I will manage to graduate from teacher's college DEBT FREE. Not one cent owed!
So, though I may have missed out on some deeper chance at growth in my faith, I think God saw I wouldn't be able to handle being that example couple, so much in debt, and drowning in payments. While now I have to be careful with every penny, and maybe can't use my OSAP money to buy a gorgeous new pair of leather boots that are calling my name, I know I'll be taken care of once I leave school. I'll have a big step ahead of a lot of other newly graduating students.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Health Services
The last little while, I've been hearing ominous rumblings about a few of my residents lack of knowledge when it comes to practicing safe sex. Now, as Kelsey the person, this kind of freaks me out and normally I would do my best to avoid having to listen to anyone discuss their sex lives with me, as I definitely believe in abstinence till marriage. However, as Kelsey the Community Advisor, when something like this is brought to my attention, I must take measures to better educate my residents. Besides, even for those that are not sexually active, becoming better informed about their bodies and the hazards of mistreating them is very important!
So last night I had a health services team, the Sexuality Team, come for an hour and a half to give demonstrations, answer questions and play a big old round of Sex Jeopardy, guys vs girls, of course. At first, I was having a little bit of a hard time enticing residents out of their apartments to join us in the lounge. A few were considered with their image, being seen at a sex ed evening, as if they didn't know anything about sex! I was most especially concerned about a couple of boys whom I had heard a few of the rumours about, not coming to the event. But have no fear, one of the speakers, another CA named Chelsea whom I know well, said she knew just the way to get people out to the meeting. She scrounged around in her bags, pulling a few items out and went running out the lounge door to bang on apartment doors. Curious, I followed her and listened to her speech to convince my anti-social residents to emerge from their holes and come interact with each other. As the door to the first apartment opened, and I saw the confused look on a pair of my boys who had no idea who Chelsea was, I was impressed by her bravery to just go up to the door. The next words out of her mouth just shocked my socks off. "I'VE GOT DILDOS AND VIBRATORS!" she sing-songed to them. I burst out in ridiculous laughter as she invited them to join us in the lounge and continued on her hunt for more of my residents. I went to the opposite end of the hallway and began entreating my residents to join, warning them that if they didn't listen to me, a crazy lady with dildos and vibrators was on the prowl for avoider-residents.
In all, the presentation, while at times a little graphic and with information I was not necessarily interested in, was very informative to my residents. Some of the questions they came up with surprised me, and some of the things they believed blew me away! This was by far my favourite: Sperm have a life span of about 10 minutes, and die when they come in contact with air. That was definitely a very popular belief. I almost smacked a few heads on that one. I mean, when your virgin christian CA knows more about safe sex than you do and you're almost as active as rabbits, there's a problem!!
It was great to see them all joking with each other and actually getting to know a few people. I played on the boys team as they were a bit out numbered, and got to know more about them in one evening than I have all semester.
There's nothing like a good collective giggle over the words penis or dental dam to really bond with each other!
So last night I had a health services team, the Sexuality Team, come for an hour and a half to give demonstrations, answer questions and play a big old round of Sex Jeopardy, guys vs girls, of course. At first, I was having a little bit of a hard time enticing residents out of their apartments to join us in the lounge. A few were considered with their image, being seen at a sex ed evening, as if they didn't know anything about sex! I was most especially concerned about a couple of boys whom I had heard a few of the rumours about, not coming to the event. But have no fear, one of the speakers, another CA named Chelsea whom I know well, said she knew just the way to get people out to the meeting. She scrounged around in her bags, pulling a few items out and went running out the lounge door to bang on apartment doors. Curious, I followed her and listened to her speech to convince my anti-social residents to emerge from their holes and come interact with each other. As the door to the first apartment opened, and I saw the confused look on a pair of my boys who had no idea who Chelsea was, I was impressed by her bravery to just go up to the door. The next words out of her mouth just shocked my socks off. "I'VE GOT DILDOS AND VIBRATORS!" she sing-songed to them. I burst out in ridiculous laughter as she invited them to join us in the lounge and continued on her hunt for more of my residents. I went to the opposite end of the hallway and began entreating my residents to join, warning them that if they didn't listen to me, a crazy lady with dildos and vibrators was on the prowl for avoider-residents.
In all, the presentation, while at times a little graphic and with information I was not necessarily interested in, was very informative to my residents. Some of the questions they came up with surprised me, and some of the things they believed blew me away! This was by far my favourite: Sperm have a life span of about 10 minutes, and die when they come in contact with air. That was definitely a very popular belief. I almost smacked a few heads on that one. I mean, when your virgin christian CA knows more about safe sex than you do and you're almost as active as rabbits, there's a problem!!
It was great to see them all joking with each other and actually getting to know a few people. I played on the boys team as they were a bit out numbered, and got to know more about them in one evening than I have all semester.
There's nothing like a good collective giggle over the words penis or dental dam to really bond with each other!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Teacher's College
This began as a post about realizing that I won't have to worry about my average for getting into teachers College, as I surpass the required minimum...then I began to think that I would also say that Teachers College was not set in stone as what I wanted to do...then this happened:
My Birth In A Rain Cloud
Lives are not stones or
Trees and mountains,
they are not the crashing sea
nor stars in the heavens.
We are rivers.
We are creeks and ditches,
estuaries of movement.
Lives are Rivers.
They carve out soft beds,
flow round debris,
weeds dancing with each
swelling and trickling.
They disappear,
beneath the surface of the earth
and yet reemerge to
smooth rocks and tumble over cliffs.
We are rivers.
Raging torrents and
Whispering streams,
currents pushing onward.
My life is a river. Ever changing by
the rain God gives the mountains in my world,
the tiny fish that rely on me for life,
the animals that look to me for food,
the rocks whose surfaces I alter, the sand I disturb.
I carve into the world,
I overflow, for good or not.
I trickle and freeze in spots.
I swirl in dangerous movements, and gently soak up the sun.
I rush ever onward, flow, bend, laze.
Towards the next lake, the next pond,
linking life and rivers, joining others, joining purposes.
Flow, change, alter, I might.
Till my currents return, till my river continues its
own carving of the world to the final bay,
till the salt rushes into my mouth,
till the sea overwhelms me.
My river ends in the arms of the ocean.
In the birth place of the rain
God gave the mountains in my world.
In the arms of my Creator.
We are Rivers.
My Birth In A Rain Cloud
Lives are not stones or
Trees and mountains,
they are not the crashing sea
nor stars in the heavens.
We are rivers.
We are creeks and ditches,
estuaries of movement.
Lives are Rivers.
They carve out soft beds,
flow round debris,
weeds dancing with each
swelling and trickling.
They disappear,
beneath the surface of the earth
and yet reemerge to
smooth rocks and tumble over cliffs.
We are rivers.
Raging torrents and
Whispering streams,
currents pushing onward.
My life is a river. Ever changing by
the rain God gives the mountains in my world,
the tiny fish that rely on me for life,
the animals that look to me for food,
the rocks whose surfaces I alter, the sand I disturb.
I carve into the world,
I overflow, for good or not.
I trickle and freeze in spots.
I swirl in dangerous movements, and gently soak up the sun.
I rush ever onward, flow, bend, laze.
Towards the next lake, the next pond,
linking life and rivers, joining others, joining purposes.
Flow, change, alter, I might.
Till my currents return, till my river continues its
own carving of the world to the final bay,
till the salt rushes into my mouth,
till the sea overwhelms me.
My river ends in the arms of the ocean.
In the birth place of the rain
God gave the mountains in my world.
In the arms of my Creator.
We are Rivers.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Update
Well its been a few weeks since I have blogged, and since then I've enjoyed a relaxing Christmas holiday, dealt with more stress at school and work that I've cared to, and returned to start my second last semester of my undergraduate degree. Eek. I have two jobs, 6 classes and a big headache, but hopefully I'll survive this one!
I just wanted to talk about an answered prayer: I have a new roommate, and, thanks be to God, she is very sweet, considerate, and I hope to be good friends with her! Her name is Itaf, she was born in Saudi Arabia, is Palestinian in descent, and has lived in Canada before. She is a first year chemical engineer, and very smart! Her family is all back in Saudi, and she is already a bit lonely, but I am trying to fill her time up as much as possible in the evenings so she won't be too homesick...this also helps with my own homesickness! Believe it or not, though I am only an hour and a bit away, I really miss the routine and relaxation of the Christmas holidays. Having someone else in the apartment, however, should help sooth my own loneliness a bit!
Well, that is all for now!
I just wanted to talk about an answered prayer: I have a new roommate, and, thanks be to God, she is very sweet, considerate, and I hope to be good friends with her! Her name is Itaf, she was born in Saudi Arabia, is Palestinian in descent, and has lived in Canada before. She is a first year chemical engineer, and very smart! Her family is all back in Saudi, and she is already a bit lonely, but I am trying to fill her time up as much as possible in the evenings so she won't be too homesick...this also helps with my own homesickness! Believe it or not, though I am only an hour and a bit away, I really miss the routine and relaxation of the Christmas holidays. Having someone else in the apartment, however, should help sooth my own loneliness a bit!
Well, that is all for now!
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