A Scot Named Scot

  A little belated but happy Father's Day to my dad, a Scot named Scot! (Yes, he was named after Scotland and yes his name is Scot with one t not two!) Glad I was able to make it home just in time to celebrate with him. (Love you Dad and sorry that I spent most of the day sleeping. I blame the jet lag.)

He is wearing the tartan tie I bought him in Scotland

Adventures to Come

  At the beginning of this trip I was greeted by eleven unfamiliar faces. Some of the girls I kind of knew from classes or sorority recruitment but others I had never even heard their names before. I honestly didn't really know any of them all that well, and I was afraid to come on the trip where everyone already had their friends. I felt like the new kid who had to prove herself worthy of being good enough to sit at the "popular" table at lunch. Fortunately for me, these girls aren't like the ones you see in movies, and they don't disregard you because you aren't in their sorority, or you don't wear pink on Wednesdays. Instead I was welcomed with open arms and I leave London with eleven new friends. (Love all of you)
  In addition to these wonderful girls, I am leaving with new memories, experiences, and knowledge. I learned so much throughout the past month and I am so thankful for the opportunity. But if I am being truly honest I am ready to get out of London. I would love to continue traveling but the big city life is not for me; I much prefer the relaxation of Sevilla or the friendliness of Edinburgh. There is also so much that awaits me back in the States that my trip to London just seems like a check mark off my list of adventures for the year. I find that I am eager to leave the city not because I am homesick or miserable here, but because there is so much more to do, so many great things to come. And I look forward to seeing what God is going to do with the next six months. I have been already blessed with so much that I can't possibly imagine what He has in store for me.

Some of my favorite moments on the trip:

We broke down and bought some "American" food

Photo-bombing pictures of celebrities (Robert Sean Leonard)

OMG! It's One Direction!!!

High Tea at the Ritz

Attempting to understand modern art at the Tate

Do the DV (inside jokes anyone?!)

I don't always understand British humor...

Just some of the tea the group bought

My beautiful friends, classmates, and teachers

The Other Side of Fear

   Fear, it has the power to destroy. It keeps people from living by convincing us that we should stay right where we are; that if we venture out of our safety zone we are only asking for trouble. Fear is paralyzing. It not our friend but is the enemy.

  When I was first learning to drive I remember being so overcome with fear during one particular lesson. Both of my parents were in the car (which is the first mistake) and I was turning left at a busy intersection. I must have done something wrong because the next thing I know is that my parents are yelling at me (Sorry! but it’s the truth. Love you both) and I slam on the brakes. My car comes to a screeching halt right if the middle of the road and again my parents raised their voices. I knew what I should do and I understood why they were yelling. I knew I needed to put my foot on the gas pedal and go. I knew that I was in more danger just sitting in the middle of the intersection than I would be if I just started driving. But I couldn't move; I was so overcome by fear that instead of getting out of the way of the oncoming traffic I sat there staring at headlights...

  Thankfully something finally shook me out of my paralysis and I pulled off to the side of the road and switched seats with my dad. I was completely shaken up and blurry eyed from tears. In the moment I wished to never drive again, but I knew that was unreasonable and of course I did drive again. (Although I have NEVER EVER turned at the intersection again, and this incident was probably six years ago now. But I still manage to find ways around it.)

  I have found that when I am struck by fear I am usually in situations like this. Not necessarily driving situations, but when i'm already in the middle of whatever it is i'm doing. Typically, I jump head first into any adventure that comes my way. I get all excited, but then fear creeps in and it's too late to back out. I have come too far; to a point where it's more dangerous to turn around than it is to keep moving forward. Today as I hiked up the 530 steps to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral it wasn't until around the 400th step that I remembered I DON'T LIKE HEIGHTS! It's not so much the altitude that bothers me; it is more the looking down and seeing nothing but ground there to catch me if I fall.
As I continued to climb I got more and more uneasy. I questioned to myself whether or not the steps were really that secure and prayed that they wouldn't break. "Just don't look down" I reminded myself (but that never really works does it?) Finally I made it to the top, and like many times when one overcomes fear I found that it was worth it.

  At the top was a beautiful view of London which could have only been seen from a high vantage point like this, and if I had given into my fear I never would have seen it. It makes me wonder how many moments in life do we miss out on because we are scared. I think people are ingrained with a sense of adventure, but we let the fear drown it out. We can no longer here the call because of all the voices of doubt filling our heads. We dive in with excitement but are then flooded with thoughts of all that could go wrong, keeping us from living life to the fullest. It is almost as if fear is a wall or line that prevents us from seeing the good that awaits us, and it's the people that are brave enough to cross to the other side that experience the best in life.

  There are so many things I would love to do, but I chicken out because i'm afraid. I can't help but compare this to my own relationship with God. I am so afraid that God won't use me, but then I become terrified when he calls me forward. Like Jonah I run and hide. I see all that could possibly go wrong. I question and doubt. I worry and visualize failure instead of promise. But like so many other things in life there is something amazing waiting for me if I can just break through to the other side of fear.

(read more about overcoming fears in my blog post: "Fears and Flying" )

St. Paul's Cathedral:

Shakespere and Feminism

  I love a happy ending; a happy ever after is a perfect end to any good story. So why did an all women acting troop ruin the finale of Shakespeare's "the Taming of the Shrew"? I was already disappointed when I was told that it would be all girls performing (how very un-Shakespeare like), but what was even more disappointing was the actresses portrayal of the beloved comedy. By the end of the show I was not left filled with feelings of giddiness and love, but instead felt pity for poor Kate.

  I had fallen into their trap. This is exactly how they wanted me to feel. See the actresses were trying to make a point about how men are regarded as superior to women and that women must do something about it. Well haven't we? It is called the feminist movement... but what happens when feminism is taken too far?

  According to Merriam-Webster feminism is defined as "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes". Equality here is the key word. I believe that it is important that women are treated equally to men and given the respect they deserve. After reading and watching the documentary Half the Sky my eyes were opened to just how badly women are treated around the world, and I realize that I am incredibly blessed to live somewhere such as the United States. But what about when women take equality too far? Have we reached a point in the feminist movement that we want more than equality, and do we as women now view ourselves as elevated about men? 

   I wrote before about how we are all different parts of the body, and without one part the body won't function. The same applies to men and women. We have different roles in the world, but we are equal. No role is greater than the other in God's eyes; it is the world that emphasizes one or the other as being better. And I challenge everyone (no matter boy or girl) to fix this. 

  I by no means think that women should stop striving to be the best that they can be. In fact girls are stepping up in this world and the numbers of women in business has significantly increased (which is awesome.) But I don't think we should see ourselves as better than men. And boys, it isn't entirely the girls' fault that women are beginning to rise above. We have worked hard to be where we are, and it is your job to step up to the plate as well. Just imagine if both men and women were really equals in this world; if everyone worked towards reaching their full potential. It is probably too much to ask for, but oh just think of the ways the world would be changed for the better.

"My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, or  else my heart concealing it will break" -The Taming of the Shrew
  
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." -Galatians 3:28

"The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him... Then the Lord God made a women from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man." -Genesis 2:18, 22

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre: